Wales squad to face Republic of Ireland

Goalkeepers: Jason Brown (Blackburn), Wayne Hennessey (Wolves), Lewis Price (Crystal Palace)
Defenders: Darcy Blake (Cardiff City), Danny Collins (Stoke), James Collins (Aston Villa), Neal Eardley (Blackpool), Chris Gunter (Nottingham Forest), Lewin Nyatanga (Bristol City), Sam Ricketts (Bolton), Ashley Williams (Swansea)
Midfielders: Andrew Crofts (Norwich), Andy Dorman (Crystal Palace), Andy King (Leicester), Joe Ledley (Celtic), David Vaughan (Blackpool)
Forwards: Simon Church (Reading), Robert Earnshaw (Nottingham Forest), Jermaine Easter (Crystal Palace), Freddy Eastwood (Coventry), Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading), Sam Vokes (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Withdrawals from original squad
Boaz Myhill (West Bromwich Albion), reason unknown
Danny Gabbidon (West Ham), hamstring
Craig Morgan (Preston North End), ankle
Dave Edwards (Wolverhampton Wanderers), ankle
Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff City, on loan from Arsenal), slight knock
Steve Morison (Millwall), muscle injury
Ched Evans (Sheffield United), virus

Lewis Price, Darcy Blake, Lewin Nyatanga, Andy Dorman, Jermaine Easter and Sam Vokes have been called up as replacements.

Joe Allen was also called up from the under-21 squad but he injured his calf in Swansea City's brilliant defeat to Cardiff City.

Players unavailable due to injury
Gareth Bale (Tottenham), back
Christian Ribeiro (Bristol City), hamstring
Neil Taylor (Swansea), ankle
Jack Collison (West Ham), knee
Craig Bellamy (Cardiff), ongoing knee problems

Other omissions
While it’s certainly possible that not all of these players would have been selected by Gary Speed had they been fit/available, they have all featured in recent squads.
David Cotterill (Swansea), limited game time
Brian Stock (Doncaster), very recent comeback from leg and/or back problems


Wales squads are always exciting if you’re me as they’re always full of Wales players. But three names made me feel particularly happy. The first is, of course, Aaron Ramsey, who features in a Wales squad for the first time since breaking his leg almost a year ago. (I know he's withdrawn now but it was great to see him there at all.) As an Arsenal and Wales fan, I have been forced to wait for Aaron's comeback but I am thrilled he’s back with my Welsh team again, hopefully helping them to get promoted and finish ahead of Swansea.

The second exciting name is (or was, until his injury) Danny Gabbidon, who has come out of retirement in order to be selected for this match. Gary Speed says he didn’t take much persuading. As his reason for retirement was his injury problems, I hope his latest problems won’t put him off being in Wales squads in the future. (Sadly, Simon Davies opted not to return although he says he was tempted. Perhaps he’ll be more tempted when Wales play England.)

The second name that particularly excited me was Freddy Eastwood. He has been doing very well for Coventry (when fit) over the past couple of seasons yet hasn’t featured in a Wales squad for two and a half years.

An interview with new Wales manager Gary Speed

Gary Speed has named Raymond Verheijen as his assistant manager. Verheijen’s work has already benefitted Wales: he has helped Craig Bellamy to manage his long-term knee injury.

Ryan Giggs is interested in helping Wales but not in a full-time role. Playing against the Republic of Ireland sounds like a part-time role to me. Kind of. Maybe.

Gary has told the Welsh players to earn their places in the squad.

It’s not clear who will be Wales’ captain against the Republic of Ireland but James Collins, Danny Gabbidon, Ashley Williams and Craig Bellamy are contenders to wear the armband against England. Danny and Craig obviously won’t play against the Republic of Ireland but James and Ashley are presumably contenders to be captain for this match too.

Andrew Crofts is delighted to be in the Wales squad. I'm glad someone is. Sometimes I wonder.

Robert Earnshaw says the match against the Republic Ireland will be more than just a warm-up for the match against England.

Gary believes Wales can qualify for the 2014 World Cup. That makes at least two of us.

Wales are 116th in the world rankings. But they can and will get higher and they’ll always be 1st for me.

Welsh Player News 5th February Premier League (Part 1)

Aston Villa
James Collins scored his second goal of the season to get a draw against rivals Birmingham City. He was Aston Villa’s Man of the Match against Wigan Athletic.
League: Birmingham A 1-1 (G1 73, Y foul 86, played all)
League: Man City H 1-0 (played all)
League: Wigan A 1-2 (played all)
FA Cup: Blackburn H 3-1 (bench, on 68)
League: Man Utd A 2-1 (played all)

Blackpool
Who would have guessed at the start of the season that Blackpool fans would be sitting in Old Trafford, feeling disappointed that they didn’t beat Manchester United? They so deserve to stay up but it’s going to be tough.
Neal Eardley was off the field when Blackpool conceded for the first time, having been kicked in the face by the Man Utd goalscorer.
League: WBA A 3-2 (starts, off 67)
League: Sunderland H 1-2 (played all)
League: Man Utd H 2-3 (played all)
League: West Ham H 1-3 (played all)

David Vaughan picked up another assist when he won a penalty for Blackpool but sadly they lost to Sunderland, who promptly tried to buy him.
League: WBA A 3-2 (G1 11, Y foul 56, played all)
League: Sunderland H 1-2 (won pen 86Y 94, played all)
League: Man Utd H 2-3 (played all)
League: West Ham H 1-3 (played all)

Rob Edwards
League: Man Utd H 2-3 (bench)

Bolton Wanderers
Sam Ricketts
League: Stoke A 2-0 (played all)
League: Chelsea H 0-4 (bench)
FA Cup: FA Wigan H 0-0 (Y foul 59, played all)
League: Wolves H 1-0 (played all)

Fulham
Simon Davies
League: Wigan A 1-1 (starts, off 76)
League: Stoke H 2-0 (bench)
League: Liverpool A 1-0 (bench)
FA Cup: Spurs H 4-0 (bench, on 80)
League: Newcastle H 1-0 (bench, on 87)

Manchester United
Ryan Giggs – who has been voted Manchester United’s best-ever player - got the assist to start Manchester United’s hard-fought comeback against Blackpool. Yes, I did write hard-fought comeback against Blackpool. He also scored and got an assist in Man Utd’s 5-0 home thrashing of Birmingham City.
Ryan thinks his newly-retired team-mate Gary Neville will be a great assistant manager – but not a great manager.
League: Spurs A 0-0 (played all)
League: Birmingham H 5-0 (starts, G3 45+2, A4 53, off 55)
League: Blackpool A 2-3 (bench, on 46, A2 74)
FA Cup: FA Soton A 1-2 (bench)
League: Villa H 3-1 (played all)

Owen Hargreaves is still out with a hamstring injury – and could be the third Manchester United player to announcement his retirement this season, following his omission from Manchester United’s Champions’ League squad. He has, however, been named in the Premier League squad.
Michael Owen made his first start for Manchester United since returning from a hamstring injury. He started for a weakened Man Utd side who came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in the FA Cup. He was happy to play but he admits it wasn’t easy.
Michael’s horse-riding stable has raised hundreds of pounds for the Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre.
League: Spurs A 0-0 (bench)
League: Birmingham H 5-0 (bench, on 55)
League: Blackpool A 2-3 (bench)
FA Cup: FA Soton A 0-1 (played all)
League: Villa H 3-1 (bench)

Premier League Fixtures 22nd January (Part 1)

Aston Villa v Manchester City
Villa are near the bottom of the table, having won only one of their last ten matches but Manchester City are pretty good now. A win for them would put them back on top of the table.
James Collins should start for Aston Villa.
James is delighted that Villa have signed Darren Bent.

Blackpool v Sunderland
Sunderland could buy Blackpool’s squad five times over with the money they got from selling Darren Bent. So maybe it wasn’t quite such a stupid move but they will miss him. Blackpool will be hoping for a double over Sunderland – they are the only side to have beaten Sunderland at home in the Premier League.
Neal Eardley and David Vaughan will probably start for Blackpool. Rob Edwards will probably be on the bench.
The Blackpool players recorded a charity single this week to raise money for their coach Gary Parkinson who has locked-in syndrome and Donna’s Dream House.

Everton v West Ham United
Another week has passed and Avram Grant is still at West Ham. But Everton have beaten West Ham more times than they’ve beaten any other Premier League team. West Ham are looking for their second away win of the season.
Danny Gabbidon will hope to be back in West Ham’s starting line-up. Jack Collison almost certainly isn’t ready to return from a knee injury although he is back in training.

Fulham v Stoke City
The Premier League’s two Welsh managers meet for the third time this season – I wonder if Tony Pulis will shake Mark Hughes’ hand this time. I hope he does. He can’t help disliking him but that sort of behaviour is too childish even for me.
Simon Davies should start for Fulham.
Ryan Shawcross should start for Stoke and Danny Collins seems certain to start too now Danny Higginbotham is injured.

Premier League Results 16th January 2011

Birmingham City 1-1 Aston Villa
This was not the only Sunday derby it was also not the only one to end in a draw – in fact, the only team to win on Sunday were Barnet Ladies. Birmingham remain a point above Villa, who are only out of the relegation zone on goal difference.
James Collins was back in the starting line-up and showed Aston Villa just how stupid it would be to sell him when his 73rd-minute goal sealed a point for Villa. He also did his job at the other end of the pitch when Birmingham’s Arsenal rejects started causing trouble. James thinks Villa need to play every match as though it’s a derby.
James was one of a group of Aston Villa players who visited a Worcester hospice this week after their Christmas visit had to be cancelled due to the snow.


Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Manchester United
Typical. On one of the few occasions where there is a definite advantage in Tottenham’s winning, they go all rubbish again and can’t do it. Tottenham did at least restrict them to one point but they couldn’t do anything about Man Utd’s unbeaten run which is starting to look worrying. Man Utd did not play particularly well as usual and Tottenham weren’t bad but Man Utd just refused to lose.
Gareth Bale could have got a couple of assists for Tottenham. Team-mate Rafael van der Vaart believes Gareth is good enough to play in Spain. But he also says that Arsenal have no chance of beating Barcelona so he probably doesn’t know what he’s talking about really. Not that he's wrong about Gareth.
Ryan Giggs made his 600th appearance for Manchester United. Michael Owen was on the bench.

Wales News 12th january 2011

The Welsh FA still don’t want their players playing for Great Britain at the Olympics.

There’s been more speculation about the return of the Home International Championship. I think they should include the Republic of Ireland and then divide England into two teams, North England and South England, based on place of birth. That should even things up a bit.

Gary Speed likes the idea of reviving the Home International Championship but he says it couldn’t be a regular thing.

FA Wales have announced that Vauxhall will be their sponsors for the next three and a half years.

Tony Pulis would like to see Ryan Giggs playing for Wales again.

Gary Speed would like Danny Gabbidon and Simon Davies to come out of international retirement. He might even consider bringing Robbie Savage back. This is South Wales feels Wales should be grateful for what they can get.

Gary might also call up Wolverhampton Wanderers’ David Jones.

Ryan Shawcross is another possibility. The newspapers will have a field day if this happens… not that I’m hoping it won’t happen.

Wales Online suggest that Aaron Ramsey should be Wales’ new captain.

Neville Southall believes James Collins would be a better choice.

Andy King would like a bigger role with Wales.

FA Cup Results 8th January 2011 Third Round (Part Three)

Norwich City 0-1 Leyton Orient
A 20th-minute goal from League One strugglers Leyton Orient was enough to see off Championship promotion contenders Norwich City. After coming so close to being knocked out by Droylsden in the last match. Orient were not taking any chances. Or rather, they took one chance, scored from it, and then defended brilliantly to keep out Norwich. Their next FA Cup opponents will be Swansea City at the almost impenetrable Liberty Stadium.
Andrew Crofts was one of several players rested by Norwich, who were also without the cup-tied Owain Tudur Jones.

Preston North End 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Preston went into the break a goal up but there’s a reason why Forest have forced their way into play-off contention while Preston are still floundering at the bottom. As if the news that Phil Brown was their new manager wasn’t enough, Preston fans had to watch their team lose. Again. They’re probably getting used to it by now. Forest are away at West Ham United in the fourth round.
Craig Morgan nearly scored when he got his head on the end of a corner (which sounds quite painful when I put it like that) and could have opened the scoring. But the result wouldn’t necessarily have been 2-2 if he had. Paul Parry was absent from the team with a broken wrist – not that the injury prevented him from being on the bench for the match against Crystal Palace.
Robert Earnshaw and, slightly more surprisingly, Chris Gunter both came close to putting Forest 2-1 up but luckily Forest were 2-1 up by the end anyway.

Reading 1-0 West Bromwich Albion
Not so long ago, West Brom were looking like the Premier League side beginning with W who were most likely to survive. That this was their sixth straight defeat probably makes this more doubtful although this result of course has no direct effect on their Premier League status.
Reading meanwhile seem to be heading in the opposite direction, albeit in a different division and it they’ll deservedly have the distraction of the FA Cup for one more round at least – they’ll be away at giant-killers Stevenage.
Simon Church was expected to start in the absence of Shane Long but Shane Long wasn’t absent (which must have been so annoying) and therefore Simon was on the bench. He and Hal Robson-Kanu did get a late run-out but they couldn’t add to Reading’s lead.
Boaz Myhill played in goal for West Brom and played well, the goal aside. And loads of goalkeepers have failed to keep out Shane Long shots this season.

Sheffield United 1-3 Aston Villa
The final result made it look easier than it was as Premier League strugglers Aston Villa beating Championship team Sheffield United. Villa got off to a great start with a goal from new loan signing Kyle Walker but there were mixed feelings for the passionate Sheffield United fan who began his career at his hometown club. Villa will face Blackburn Rovers in the fourth round.
Ched Evans played the full match for Sheffield United – the second consecutive match in which he hasn’t found the net (although I’m sure he would have done if Jamie Ward had let him take the penalty like he was supposed to) but with a return of four goals in his last six games, maybe it was another player’s turn to score.
James Collins was on Aston Villa’s bench for this match which raised questions (in my mind at least) about whether Gerard Houllier was reluctant to cup-tie a player he was rumoured to be selling but his appearance in the 91st minute suggested this was unlikely.

Transfer News and Rumours 8th January 2011 (Premier League)

Arsenal will not allow Nottingham Forest to extend Aaron Ramsey’s loan spell with them. And quite right too.

Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers are fighting it out to sign James Collins from Aston Villa.

Ian Holloway says he could sell his stars including David Vaughan… if a top four club wants them.

Manchester United have first refusal on their former player Ryan Shawcross, according to Stoke City manager Tony Pulis. Apparently, Alex Ferguson sorted that out when he sold Ryan to Stoke. Ryan won’t move this January however.

Sir Alex Ferguson doesn’t want Michael Owen to leave Manchester United just yet. West Ham United will be disappointed to hear that.

Or no wait, maybe Sir Alex Ferguson does want Michael to leave. And he can take Owen Hargreaves and possibly Ryan Giggs with him.

If Michael is in need of a new club, Everton are said to be interested.

Ryan Giggs’ contract ends this season but he is expected to sign a new one. As long as the lure of New York Cosmos doesn’t prove too great.

Gareth Bale’s agent says that Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid are all interested in signing the Tottenham Hotspur left-footer. They’d be lucky. Gareth’s says that Gareth wants to play in Italy and maybe he does but what’s the poor boy supposed to say if his Italian agent asks if he would like to play in Italy one day? He’s hardly going to say no, is he? He’s much too nice to say no.
The Welsh FA, however, aren’t too nice to say no. Or they haven’t been so far. Gareth wants to play for the Great Britain Olympic team, the GB people don’t want a team without Gareth – but nothing can happen unless the Welsh FA learn how to say yes. (Although to be fair to them, there is no real word for ‘yes’ in Welsh…)

Fa Cup Fixtures 8th January 2011 (Part 4)

Norwich City v Leyton Orient
Norwich had a few problems with Droylsden in the last round, needing a replay and extra time in order to beat them 8-2. They’ll be hoping Orient are a lot less trouble.
If Norwich rest players, Andrew Crofts could be one of them. Owain Tudur Jones is cup-tied, having already played for Yeovil in the FA Cup.

Preston North End v Nottingham Forest
Here’s the second of the two all-Championship ties. Preston are looking like a team who could be in League One next season while Forest have crept up on the play-offs and now look like contenders. But anything can happen in the FA Cup.
Craig Morgan and Paul Parry could start for Preston but they might be saved for more important games. No disrespect to the FA Cup but they have more chance of surviving relegation than winning the Cup and surviving is probably something they quite want to do.
If Forest do plan on giving star players such as Chris Gunter a rest, this might be a good time. Robert Earnshaw was rested in Forest’s last match so maybe he was being saved for the FA Cup. He did score a hat-trick two matches ago. Aaron Ramsey has returned to Arsenal after Arsene Wenger refused a request to extend his loan. The chances are, he wouldn’t have let them cup-tie Aaron either.

Reading v West Bromwich Albion
These two clubs were probably hoping not to see each other for a couple of season after playing four times last season.
Simon Church is expected to start for Reading. Hal Robson-Kanu and Jake Taylor might also get the chance to feature.
Boaz Myhill will start in goal for West Brom/

Sheffield United v Aston Villa
Sheffield United and Aston Villa have something in common. Not only are they both playing in this match, they are both have one point from their last four matches.
Ched Evans should play for Sheffield United. They might not be winning but that isn’t stopping him from scoring.
James Collins will probably play for Villa unless they are going to sell him and don’t want him cup-tied. The other James Collins has signed for Shrewsbury Town but he’s not Welsh.

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2010-11 (Premier League, Part 1)

I’m never going to catch up on all the matches that have taken place (or not) so I’ll just do a quick overview of all the Welsh (and nearly Welsh) players.

Arsenal
Aaron Ramsey made his long-awaited return to non-reserve football when he came off the bench for loan club Nottingham Forest. A number of Forest’s matches were cancelled due to the snow but Aaron managed four appearances, including two starts. Forest were hoping to extend Aaron’s loan but Arsene Wenger understandably said no.
(all matches with Nottingham Forest)
Palace H 3-0 (bench, on 74)
Derby H 5-2 (starts, off 60)
Barnsley A 2-2 (bench, on 54)

Sanchez Watt is still on loan at Leeds United so I’ll talk about him later.

Aston Villa
James Collins has got himself into a few spots of bother on and off the field but he has managed to keep his place in the team. Along with practically every other footballer whose name the media knows, there have been rumours about him leaving his club in the transfer window.
Spurs H 1-2 (played all)
Man C A 4-0 (played all)
Chelsea A 3-3 (Y foul 22, played all)
Sunderland H 0-1 (Y foul 45+2, played all)

Elliot Parish hasn’t been near the first team as far as I’m aware. Even when reserve keeper Brad Guzan was absent, Villa stuck some other guy on the benc. But hopefully that will dissuade the England lower level sides from picking him and then Wales can nip in.

Blackburn Rovers
Jason Brown has returned from Leyton Orient, ending his second loan spell of the season. Leeds United and Leyton Orient should have given him a clue about whether he really wants first-team football or not. Jason played no matches over the Christmas period due to the cancellation of Orient’s games and what can only be ignorance (or that’s what I tell myself) on the part of new manager Steve Kean.

Blackpool
Neal Eardley didn’t start the season at the forefront of Ian Holloway’s mind (and maybe that was no bad thing the forefront of Ian Holloway’s mind is probably a scary place) but now he’s starting every match and providing assists (although he didn’t get any over Christmas).
Sunderland A 0-2 (played all)
Man City A 1-0 (played all)
Birmingham H 1-2 (played all)

David Vaughan has gone about his duties rather more quietly than Neal and if you’re not physically watching or listening to the match, it’s difficult to know if he’s doing anything at all. But according to fans and manager, he most certainly is. David’s contract ends this summer and Ian Holloway wants to keep him – but only if he’ll stop arguing and sign a new contract. If he won’t sign, it might be better to let him go now and get a bit of money for him. It’s not like Blackpool are in dire relegation straits after all. There’s nothing dire about Blackpool.
Sunderland A 0-2 (played all)
Man City A 1-0 (played all)
Birmingham H 1-2 (played all)

Rob Edwards had a period of not being in the matchday squad but it turned out he was injured and over the past month, he has been on the bench every time. Maybe that’s not where he most wants to be but as long as you’re on the bench, at least you have a chance of playing.
Sunderland A 0-2 (bench)
Man City A 1-0 (bench)
Birmingham H 1-2 (bench)
Bolton Wanderers
Sam Ricketts got himself back into the first team and has pretty much stayed there. He did get dropped for one match but Bolton Wanderers soon saw sense and brought him on as a substitute.
Sunderland A 1-0 (played all)
WBA H 2-0 (bench, on 64)
Chelsea A 1-0 (played all)
Liverpool A 2-1 (played all)
Wigan H 1-1 (played all)

Chelsea
Rhys Taylor is still on loan at Crewe Alexandra from ‘struggling Chelsea’. He has the option of moving to another club in this transfer window but if he does want to go, he’s been keeping it quiet.

Fulham
Simon Davies said his ongoing foot injury would prevent him from playing regularly for Fulham but it looks as though he’s underestimated himself. But the really good news is that he hasn’t said a definite no in response to Gary Speed’s attempt to recall him to the Wales squad so I kind of feel vaguely hopeful some of the time.
Simon has four assists from his last four games, as well as a brilliant goal.
West Ham H 1-3 (A1 11, played all)
Stoke A 0-2 (played all)
Spurs A 1-0 (played all)
WBA H 3-0 (starts, G1 45+1, A2 56, A3 65, off 82)

Manchester City
Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy remains on loan at Cardiff City for the season although there are reports of plans to steal him away from his childhood club.

Premier League Fixtures 18th December 2010

Arsenal v Stoke City
Ryan Shawcross faces Arsenal for the first time since breaking Aaron Ramsey’s leg. Some papers reported that Stoke will be providing Ryan with extra security. Arsene Wenger feels this isn’t necessary. Tony Pulis is inclined to agree but it’s probably the only thing he and Arsene do agree on.
Some people have criticised Arsene Wenger for saying it’s up to Aaron to forgive Ryan, not Arsene. I think it’s probably the best thing he could have said although it does put a bit of pressure on Aaron. If Arsene said he does forgive Ryan, he risks upsetting Aaron and the Arsenal fans. If he says he doesn’t, that will upset the Stoke fans – something he’s succeeding in doing on quite a few occasions in the last year. So he’s attempted to remove himself from the equation altogether and to me it seems like he is effectively saying he has nothing personal against Ryan.
Far more necessary from an Arsenal point of view is not losing another game at home. Only West Ham United have lost more home games than Arsenal although there are quite a few who have lost three.
Danny Collins should also start for Stoke.
Aaron Ramsey is, of course, on loan at Nottingham Forest.

Blackburn Rovers v West Ham United
Avram Grant has allegedly been given three matches to save his career – he needs to win at least one. He has denied this is the case but all the same, winning at least one of the next three sounds like a good idea to me. West Ham have won only two league games this season and they’ve both been at home (they haven’t won away for sixteen months) but a team who has lost their manager for no good reason will often be fair game.
Danny Gabbidon missed West Ham’s last game with an unspecified injury. There’s nothing to suggest he will miss that match too but there wasn’t anything last time either. Jack Collison is definitely still out but he is back in training following his long-term knee problems.

Liverpool v Fulham
Roy Hodgson takes his new club back to meet his former club - and neither club is where they want to be. Liverpool are nine points from a Champions’ League place while Fulham are outside the relegation places only on goal difference. But with Liverpool’s home form looking fairly healthy and Fulham not winning away for more than a year, I know what result I’m expecting.
Simon Davies should start for Fulham.

Sunderland v Bolton Wanderers
Sunderland are unbeaten at home and they’ll hope this run continues – but sixth-placed Bolton will provide a stern test although they’ve only won twice away this season. Even a point for Bolton will be an improvement on last year, when Sunderland beat them twice.
Sam Ricketts should keep his place in Bolton’s defence. Sam was one of a group of players who visited Bolton Hospice to meet the patients and give out presents.

Wigan Athletic v Aston Villa
A point could be enough to hoist Wigan out of the bottom three – and Villa’s only away league win was nearly three months ago.
James Collins should start for Villa. He’s pretty much the only defender who doesn’t seem to be either injured or dumped in the reserves.

Premier League Results 11th December 2010

Aston Villa 2-1 West Bromwich Albion
Aston Villa’s run of five straight defeats came to an end when they won the derby match with West Bromwich Albion.
James Collins played for Villa despite daring to go out for a meal with his wife in the vicinity of a nightclub the night before a game. He nearly scored (during the match, I mean, not at the nightclub) and finished the game with a match-saving block.
Boaz Myhill was on the bench for West Brom and missed the chance to play against a former club.

Fulham 0-0 Sunderland
Both teams have drawn more than their fair share of matches this season so this result was no surprise at all. Fulham remain outside the bottom three on goal difference and have equalled the record for the biggest number of draws in the opening seventeen games. This was their tenth draw. I won’t say how many matches Mark Hughes has won from his last twenty-six because I’m supposed to be nice to Welshmen.
Simon Davies played the full match for Fulham. He might have got an assist if the referee hadn’t been paying attention.

Stoke City 0-1 Blackpool
Tony Pulis and Ian Holloway are good friends and Tony’s son Anthony Pulis, now at Stockport County on loan from Southampton, is apparently Ian Holloway’s godson. Which practically makes Ian Welsh if you’re me. But if Tony had had another child after this match, maybe he would have chosen a different godparent.
Stoke are formidable at home and they were on a five-match unbeaten run but Blackpool fear nobody and they do have the third-best away record in the League, after Arsenal and Manchester City. The win puts them into the top half of the table. They haven’t done enough to stop them from going down (not even Manchester United have done that) but at least they’ve managed to shut up most of the people who are saying they’ll go straight back down again.
Danny Collins and Ryan Shawcross played in defence for Stoke. Danny says he can’t blame the fans for jeering.
Neal Eardley nearly scored on his 150th league appearance and also made a great block to deny Stoke a certain goal but this was unfortunately credited to a team-mate.
David Vaughan also had a good game – 91% of his passes were successful. Rob Edwards was on the bench. It’s nice to see the Blackpool players being so complimentary about two of my favourite Blackpool players.

West Ham United 1-3 Manchester City
West Ham must be so disappointed. If only their former player Carlos Tevez had decided to leave forty-eight hours earlier. It would have thrown the club into disarray and maybe West Ham could have got a point or three.
Danny Gabbidon didn’t play for West Ham due to injury. Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion are both said to be interested in bringing Danny to the Midlands.

Premier League Result 6th December 2010

Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa
Villa manager Gerard Houllier didn’t have his best match against his old club.
James Collins played the full match for Aston Villa despite being out clubbing the night before.

Premier League Fixtures 11th December 2010

Aston Villa v West Bromwich Albion
Villa have never lost to West Brom in the Premier League but the two midlands clubs meet with West Brom the side on form. Villa have only lost once at home this season and that was to Arsenal.
Gerard Houllier is said to be unhappy with Villa’s defending. James Collins is in trouble for going clubbing the night before a match, although he says it was just a meal with his wife, but Houllier says he won’t punish him.
One Welshman likely to be sitting on the bench though is West Brom’s Boaz Myhill.

Fulham v Sunderland
Fulham are only out of the bottom three on goal difference and really need a win. But one thing Fulham and Sunderland share is the fact that they’ve drawn at least as many games as they’ve won and lost put together. Managers Mark Hughes and Steve Bruce did better when they were on the same team.
Simon Davies should play for Fulham.

Stoke City v Blackpool
Blackpool have been training on the beach. It sounds nice… but then I remembered the temperature. Blackpool are unbeaten in three but Stoke are notoriously strong at the Britannia Stadium and are themselves unbeaten in five.
Danny Collins and Ryan Shawcross should both start for Stoke. And if anyone from Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid or Juventus happens to be reading, Ryan is not for sale. Okay?
Neal Eardley will be making his 150th league appearance if he plays some part in this match – I’d expect both him and David Vaughan to start with Rob Edwards on the bench.
David can expect a lot of support today from his fan club – of which Everon are apparently members.

West Ham United v Manchester City
The papers are full of rumours of Manchester City bust-ups but they are still fourth in the league and could be second after this match (or top if they win by seven goals). West Ham are unbeaten in five home games in all competitions.
Jack Collison is back in training for West Ham! He won’t be playing in this fixture and he probably still won’t play again in 2010. Maybe he’ll inspire West Ham to win. They have done quite well against teams from Manchester recently.
Danny Gabbidon should play for West Ham – which is also very exciting when you consider his own injury problems.

Premier League Results 27th November 2010 (Part 1)

Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal
This match was a lot more excrutiating than the result suggests. Arsenal won by two clear goals but it could easily have been won by one goal – and not necessarily by Arsenal. But they did get to the top of the table briefly and I’m just happy they’re still in a position where they can get to the top of the table.
James Collins played the full match for Villa and aggravated his calf which must have been, well, aggravating.

Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Blackpool
It looked as though Blackpool were about to pull off another shock when they went 2-0 ahead at Bolton. But Bolton aren’t in a Europa League place for nothing and two late goals gave them a share of the points.
Sam Ricketts played the full match for Bolton.
Neal Eardley was in the right place to ensure Bolton didn’t get a winner. He and David Vaughan played the full match for Blackpool with Rob Edwards on the bench.
David is Ian Holloway’s dream man – if he is a man. Apparently he was manufactured which makes him sound more like a robot. Whatever he is, Holloway is going to offer him a new contract which he hopes will be enough to entice him to stay.

Everton 1-4 West Bromwich Albion
I thought Everton were getting over their usual early season slump but if you’re losing at home to West Brom (who aren’t on the best run themselves), you’ve really got a problem. Oh well, at least the Liverpool fans had something to be happy about for once.
Boaz Myhill was on the bench for West Brom.

Fulham 1-1 Birmingham City
Fulham used to be good at home but now it seems all they’re good at is drawing. In some ways, drawing a match is more of an achievement than winning it because if you win a match, you can score any number of goals and as long as it’s more than the opposition, you win. For a draw, you need to score exactly the same number of goals as the opposition. It’s probably not easy. But it still only gets you one point.
Simon Davies started for Fulham and took the corner that led to their equaliser.

Premier League Fixtures 27th November 2010 (Part 1)

Aston Villa v Arsenal
Arsenal will be desperate to bounce back from two humiliating wins in their last two matches. Birmingham City did them a huge favour last weekend by beating Chelsea and while Arsenal spurned the chance to overtake them, at least it means Chelsea aren’t too far ahead. He’s not Welsh but former Arsenal star Robert Pires could start for Villa – who are unbeaten at home this season.
James Collins will return from a calf injury to play in defence for Aston Villa
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has joined Nottingham Forest on loan until January, a move which has been welcomed by Wales caretaker manager Brian Flynn.

Bolton Wanderers v Blackpool
Blackpool’s impressive start to the season has got everyone’s attention but meanwhile Bolton have been sneaking quietly up the table and they are currently in fifth place.
Sam Ricketts will hope to keep his place in Bolton’s defence – and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t, given how well he’s done. But it’s not all the defence – Sam believes Johan Elmander is one of the most in-form players in the Premier League.
Neal Eardley and David Vaughan will probably start for Blackpool with Rob Edwards on the bench. Ian Holloway really wants David to remain at Blackpool but he doesn’t sound very hopeful.

Everton v West Bromwich Albion
West Brom’s six-match unbeaten run seems like a long time ago and they could be in the relegation zone on Saturday evening if results don’t go their way. But with Everton winning only three times this season (although they have only lost four in their last 25), maybe this is the time for West Brom to halt their slide down the table… and win their second away league match this season.
Boaz Myhill probably won’t start for West Brom.

Fulham v Birmingham City
Fulham are in trouble after losing to Manchester City in their last match. Now they must try to beat the team who’s just beaten the League Champions. Birmingham are however much weaker away from home – they’re yet to win away this season. The last time Birmingham beat Fulham at home, Robbie Savage scored. Even more incredibly, so did Emile Heskey.
Fulham are short of strikers as usual but they’ve been short of strikers for the last two years and that didn’t stop them from getting their highest finish ever and going all the way to the Europa League final. They do have a number of midfielders capable of scoring, including Simon Davies. Although if Roy Hodgson has his way, Simon might not be a Fulham player for very much longer.

Wales manager news 16th November 2010

Brian Flynn is hoping he’ll be able to stay in the role after becoming caretaker managers for the qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland (which didn't go quite as I'd hoped).

Brian, John Hartson, Ian Rush, Chris Coleman, Dean Saunders, Brian Kerr, Lawrie Sanchez, Lars Lagerback and Terry Venables are said to be on a shortlist of candidates to become manager of Wales. I really hope it’s one of the ones in bold. If any of the others have Welsh blood, if they have or have had eligibility to play for Wales, I’d be very happy for them to become manager of Wales. But I really want a manager who is part of the national identity of Wales. Someone who supports Wales.

Read more about the candidates.

FA Wales wanted Ryan Giggs but he doesn’t want the job just yet. Martin O’Neill is said to be their second choice (even though he’s not on the shortlist) but James Collins would have something to say about that if the champagne bottle rumours are true.

Ian Rush would love the job but he won’t say whether he’s applied or not.

Premier League Fixtures 13th November 2010 (Part 1)

Aston Villa v Manchester United
Aston Villa are just a point behind fifth place and will hope to build on their late victory over Blackpool this week. And right now, Manchester United’s name probably doesn’t strike fear into the heart of every footballer.
Aston Villa would be very silly to leave James Collins out and he only made himself more valuable with his last-minute winner against Blackpool this week. But be careful, Man Utd. James hasn’t forgotten the Carling Cup final.
It was thought Ryan Giggs could return from a hamstring injury for Manchester United but it looks like he won’t make it. Michael Owen’s and Owen Hargreaves’ hamstrings are also still playing up. Owen is likely to be out until mid-December.

Newcastle United v Fulham
Newcastle were predicted to struggle and there’s plenty of time for them to struggle later on in the season. Fulham are looking for their first away win since August. And I’m not talking about August 2010.
There’s no word on Simon Davies’ ankle but he’s already played two in the last week for Fulham and that’s something likely to trouble any long-term injury.
Mark Hughes has only won four of his last 23 Premier League games but it’s not as bad as it sounds, most of them were draws so he was mostly unbeaten.

Stoke City v Liverpool
Stoke are out of the bottom three and they have the home advantage which can make a real difference to them. But Liverpool aren’t looking nearly as bad as they did two weeks ago. Relegation battle? Oh no, everyone’s talking about the Champions’ League now. Fernando Torres finds the net for once (or three times) and suddenly people are deleting the last three letters from the word Championship and adding the word League instead.
Ryan Shawcross has completed a one-match ban so he returns for Stoke. Danny Collins should also play.

Tottenham Hotspur v Blackburn Rovers
Tottenham can do the business against Inter Milan but when it comes to the Premier League, they’ve been struggling – although they are a point away from the Europa League place. Blackburn’s right back had a nightmare against Gareth Bale last time they played – and Gareth is even better now.
Tottenham will be hoping Gareth Bale stays fit. Not only is he a very important player for them, they have eleven players out injured already.

Premier League Fixtures 6th November 2010 (Part 1)

Birmingham City v West Ham United
Danny Gabbidon is likely to return to the left back after spending the last match at centre back for West Ham.

Blackpool v Everton
David Vaughan should keep his place in Blackpool’s starting line-up and I wouldn’t be surprised if Neal Eardley did too. Rob Edwards could also get a game if Craig Cathcart fails to recover from a back injury.

Bolton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur
Sam Ricketts will probably be on the bench for Bolton.
Tottenham aren’t going to leave Gareth Bale out. Not even Tottenham are that stupid.

Fulham v Aston Villa
Aston Villa have only one fit striker, a situation with which Fulham will sympathise. But they won’t sympathise too much.
Simon Davies should play in midfield for Fulham. He’ll be hoping to get past Aston Villa defender James Collins.

Premier League Results 31st October 2010

Aston Villa 0-0 Birmingham City
This Midlands derby ended in a stalemate which Aston Villa probably should have won. Not that either of them particularly deserved it. It could be me but it seemed like he most exciting thing that happened was Nigel Reo-Coker getting into a fight with his former Villa team-mate Craig Gardner. With both players earning yellow cards (for separate arguments), I can only assume that ended in a draw too.
The good thing about goalless draws over any other kind of draw is that it means James Collins keeps a clean sheet for Aston Villa.

Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Liverpool
Liverpool moved out of the bottom three but luckily this doesn’t deprive me the satisfaction of using the words ‘Liverpool’ and ‘the bottom three’ in the same sentence. They were actually pretty lucky to get out of the bottom three at all and must be counting themselves very lucky that Arsenal’s alleged bid for Pepe Reina was rejected. Bolton were the better side and deserved the win with some exciting attacking football but no-one actually found the back of the net. It was Liverpool’s first away win since April and Roy Hodgson’s first away win since August 2009.
Sam Ricketts was on the bench for Bolton.

Welsh Player News 28th October 2010 (Part 1)

Aaron Ramsey is expected to play in a behind-closed-doors friendly in early November and could be a substitute for the first team by December but he’s unlikely to start until January. (link includes picture of Aaron’s injury)

James Collins believes Aston Villa are a match for any Premier League side. He’s also happy to see some of last year’s fringe players playing a part this season.

Blackpool are understandably keen to extend David Vaughan’s contract but Ian Holloway thinks the club could lose him next summer.

Simon Davies doesn’t want Mark Schwarzer to leave Fulham for Arsenal. But either way, they might not be playing in the same team many more times. Simon is expecting to become a bit-part player for Fulham over the next couple of seasons before retiring in 2013. But ideally, he’ll score in another Europa League final first.

Shocking news from Old Trafford. Ryan Giggs is mortal. Apparently.

Michael Owen could retire from football if Manchester United let him go at the end of the season. He’s not interested in playing for any other teams and he’s happy Wayne Rooney is staying, even though he’s just one striker blocking his route to the first team. Michael is certainly not expected to play for the next few weeks as he has a hamstring injury. Three goals in six appearances isn’t bad though. I bet lots of strikers would love to score three goals in six games.

Sir Alex Ferguson says he made a big mistake letting Ryan Shawcross leave Manchester United. He would have played if he’d stayed. Ryan just wants to play for England. Shame.

Gareth Bale is set to be the richest Welsh player in history. He could also be by far the most expensive. All the top clubs want to buy him and his hat-trick can only encourage the other clubs to lure him away from my least favourite half of North London. And writer Michael Colvin believes Gareth will go.
For the moment, Gareth is happy where he is and Harry Redknapp says he’s not after Ashley Young because he’s got Gareth so he obviously doesn’t want to sell him.. They’re not that stupid. The Guardian describes Gareth as a talent to give British football hope. Or Welsh football maybe.
Chelsea, Manchester United, Inter Milan and AC Milan all want to sign Gareth.
Phil Neville enjoyed getting the better of a very tired Gareth when Tottenham played Everton last weekend. It’s the most impressive thing he’s done for a long time. No, I actually think Phil Neville is the best English right back at the moment. He wouldn’t get into the Wales team though.

Boaz Myhill hasn’t had a lot of first-team action since joining West Bromwich Albion from Hull City – but you won’t catch him moaning about it. (I wish he hadn’t mentioned beating Arsenal though. But who can blame him, it’s not something that happens to many clubs.)

Former Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Matt Murray feels Mick McCarthy did a good thing in making Marcus Hahnemann first choice keeper instead of Wayne Hennessey. And he might have a point.